NPD is one of the several types of personality disorders that involves a distorted self-image. Emotions can be intense and unstable and there is an over-concern with prestige, vanity, or personal sufficiency. A study was published in the journal of clinical psychiatry, which was carried out by the National Institute of Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism. According to that study, 4.8% of women and 7.7% of men develop NPD during their lifetime.

What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

In people suffering from this disorder, there lies a fragile self-esteem and a deep sense of insecurity behind the mask of extreme confidence. It is closely linked with egocentrism, a personality disorder in which people feel their opinions and interest are the only ones that really matter and should be accepted by everyone.

Narcissistic personality disorder creates many problems in financial affairs, work, school, as well as personal relationships. When these people are not given the special attention they think they deserve, it can lead them to disappointment and a state of unhappiness. Their relationships are not fulfilled and other people may not enjoy their company.

How to find a Narcissistic Personality Disorder Therapist

If you are looking to find the perfect Narcissistic Personality Disorder therapist it is crucial to make sure that they have the appropriate qualifications, knowledge and experience. At Expat Therapy 4U we only accept therapists who have full professional proficiency in English and are highly experienced in working with people from culturally diverse backgrounds. The clinicians we approve share our values and commitment to provide high quality therapy to the expatriate community in the private sector across Europe and online worldwide. We strongly believe that therapy changes lives, and being accredited ensures all our therapists are qualified to a high standard. You can find a Narcissistic Personality Disorder therapist who is insured to practice and accredited with a recognised membership body online here.

Symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Signs and symptoms of Narcissistic personality disorder vary from person to person. Persons suffering from NPD have an elaborate sense of self-importance. They have a sense of liberty and want excessive and constant admiration. Such individuals expect to be known as superior among other people even without achievements. In addition, they believe that they belong to the upper class and can only associate with equally special people.

These people are always occupied with fantasies of their beauty, success, power, or the perfect partner. Because of that, that they exaggerate their talents and achievements. they believe that they have the best of everything, such as an office or car. They expect special favors from other people and unquestioning agreement with their expectations.

Narcissistic people behave in a naughty and arrogant manner, coming across as pretentious, conceited and boastful. They take advantage of others to achieve something and have an unwillingness and inability to understand the feelings and needs of others. Their conversations are controlled and they look down on people that they perceive as inferior.

At the same time, people with Narcissistic personality disorder face difficulty in handling their relationships and are always in trouble. In return, this can cause feelings of shame, humiliation, insecurity, and vulnerability in them.

When they don’t receive special treatment and appreciation, they become angry and impatient and feel moody or depressed because they lack perfection. To deal with it, they experience remarkable problems associated with stress and anxiety. They suffer from consequent interpersonal problems and easily feel the sense of insult. Such people react with contempt and rage and behave as if they’re superior to others. More importantly, they have difficulty in regulating their behaviour and emotions.

Causes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder

The causes of Narcissistic personality disorder are not known. The reason is that its causes are as complex as other personality disorders.

Narcissistic personality disorder is related to:

Environment:  Conflict between a child and their parent with either excessive criticism or excessive adoration can create a poor child experience.

Genetics: It is linked with the inherited characteristics. It plays an important role in the development of narcissistic personality disorder.

Neurology: It is the connection between the thinking behavior and the brain.

Recommended Treatments for Narcissistic Personality Disorder

It is difficult to treat individuals suffering from this disorder because patients don’t believe they have any problem and they always blame others for everything.

The first perfect treatment of this disorder is psychotherapy. Medications are prescribed in severe cases, but it is usually used for pre-occurring conditions.

Psychotherapy

Research on specific psychotherapeutic interventions is insufficient. A therapist needs to have specialized training to treat individuals suffering from this disorder. It includes:

Transference-focused Therapy

It is a psychodynamic treatment that begins with verbal contact. In this therapy, the goals of the NPD patient are identified and where the treatment should be focused on.

Schema Therapy (SFT)

It is the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy that assists the patients to replace the unhealthy schemas. It includes entitlement and defectiveness.

Mentalization-based therapy (MBT)

It helps the individuals to accurately self-reflect, review their feelings and emotions, and observe the connection between behavior and mental state.

Dialectic behaviour therapy (DBT)

This therapy focuses on emotional regulation, tolerance, distress, and mindfulness and is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Metacognitive behavioral therapy (MIT)

It is specifically developed to treat this disorder. It consist of two stages:

Stage setting: It involves a deeper understanding of the interpersonal relationships of the individual by exploring memories, different situations, and recurrent patterns.

Change promoting: It helps the patient to understand that the situations can be seen differently from different patterns and their ideas do not necessarily mirror quality.

Medications

FDS (Food Drug and Administration) has not approved any medications to treat NPD. However, it is prescribed by the doctors to take antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers for aggression and anger. To treat the co-occurring mental conditions, such as anxiety or stress, medicines may be prescribed.

Find a Narcissistic Personality Disorder Therapist through the Expat Therapy 4U platform

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental condition in which people have an excessive sense of their admiration, self-importance and a need for excessive attention, have troubled relationships, usually lack the emotion of empathy for others, and are unable to appreciate others.

For childhood mental disorders, get treatment as soon as possible. You can seek guidance from social workers or therapists and can also attend parenting classes to treat yourself because NPD can lead to many complications in life, including suicidal thoughts or behavior. If you identify any symptoms that are common to NPD, consult a trusted doctor and mental health provider. The right treatment at the right time makes your life more enjoyable and rewarding.

Further Readings on Narcissistic Personality Disorder

https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/problems/narcissistic-personality-disorder-counselling-london/

https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/10-signs-you-are-in-love-with-a-narcissist/